This building was put up on landfill (in a place where San Francisco Bay used to be 15 feet(!) deep) and it got finished in, wait for it, 1905, just in time for the Great Fire and Earthquake of 1906. But that was no problem at all ’cause of all the pilings it had driven 40 feet(!) into the mud. And the fires, well they just happened to stop right across the street.

See? “X” marks the spot and the dark yellow shows where the fires went:

The University of San Francisco has agreed to buy the historic Folger Coffee Building in the heart of downtown San Francisco.

Listed on the National Registerof Historic Places and located within walking distance of where USF first opened its doors in 1855 at Fourth and Market streets, the agreed purchase of the Folger Building at 101 Howard St. marks a return to the university’s roots in downtown San Francisco.

With easy access to freeways, the Bay Bridge, and public transportation, the location builds on USF’s 156-year history of service to San Francisco, while acting on the university’s goals to be more visible and more tightly woven into the fabric of the city.

“By relocating some of the university’s programming, we will have more opportunity to serve multiple audiences – allowing USF to be closer to the businesses and civic organizations with which we currently partner, while also engaging new prospects for collaboration,” said USF President Stephen A. Privett, S.J. “With neighbors such as Google, Twitter, DropBox, SalesForce.com, and established legal and financial services firms, this acquisition presents tremendous opportunity for new corporate partnerships and places USF in the center of innovation.”

With 90 percent of the Folger Building currently occupied by tenants, USF’s presence in downtown will be limited in the near term. Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jennifer Turpin, in consultation with the deans and faculty, will finalize decisions about what academic programs will occupy the downtown space and on what schedule. No decisions have been made yet as to what administrative and non-academic units will be housed in the new building.